What causes high cholesterol? Causes of high cholesterol may be due to other health conditions or nutritional deficiency.
If you have high LDL cholesterol, doctors suppress by prescribing combination cholesterol medication. Rarely, only a few doctors investigate into the underlying causes of elevated LDL cholesterol.
Once you identify the high cholesterol cause, then often harmful cholesterol medications is unnecessary.
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8 Unexpected Causes of High Cholesterol
There are five primary reasons for the rise in LDL cholesterol, they are:
- Poor thyroid function – hypothyroidism
- Sub-clinical liver problems or fatty liver
- Infections
- Food allergy or food toxins
- Leaky gut
- Kidney Disease
- Opting to lose weight
- Adopting to low-carbohydrate diet
Poor thyroid function
The decrease in thyroid hormone affects every cell in your body. It also lowers the LDL cholesterol consumption (body unable to consume). Thus, there is a notable elevation in LDL cholesterol level in the blood.
Most doctors unaware of the link between subclinical hypothyroidism and LDL cholesterol raise.
Due to undetectable hypothyroidism leads to the inability of the body to use lipid. You need cholesterol for the synthesis of steroidal hormones. Thus, lipid shortage affects the synthesis of cortisol, DHEA, and testosterone.
In some, hypothyroidism is the reason for your high LDL cholesterol level. Then, if you doctor to prescribe a statin to lower cholesterol, it only worsens your health.
Liver problem
Liver problems may raise triglycerides & small LDL and lower HDL. Fatty liver is the most common liver disorder. Fatty liver describes the buildup of triglycerides and cholesterol in the liver.
Fatty liver develops due to regular surplus consumption of alcohol or refined carbohydrates. More specifically sugar consumption.
High carbohydrate intake forces the pancreas to release excess insulin into the blood stream. Fatty liver developed due to unused excess glucose convert into fat and stored in the liver. Additionally, this often linked with excess abdominal fat (central obesity). Fatty liver has a strong link with type 2 diabetes with insulin resistance.
Regular vigorous exercise, burn triglyceride in the liver and help heal the fatty liver. Reducing carbohydrate intake stop further liver fat storage and aids fast recovery. Eat whole grain, omega-3 rich fats, nuts, legumes, fruits, and vegetables help the fatty liver.
Pale or gray stools may be due to liver and gallbladder problem behind your high cholesterol.
Microbial Infection
Infections by bacteria or virus and its toxic byproducts trigger the immune system. The immune system raises cholesterol level to deactivate remove microbes and its toxins from the blood.
Atherosclerosis develops due to inflammation in the arterial wall. Most healthcare professionals are unaware that inflammation is by the microorganisms.
The cholesterol, in particular, LDL cholesterol act as a defense system. LDL cholesterol bind with microbes and toxins, then remove them from the bloodstream.
Food allergy or toxins
Sometimes your body consider certain food proteins, as a harmful microbe or toxin. This immune system mistake leads to food allergy.
Immune system releases toxins to kill microbes. But, in the case of food allergy, immune by mistake consider protein as a microbe. Due to this false immune trigger, it damages instead of protection.
Allergy symptoms are
- Dry, swelling, red and itchy skin.
- Abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting.
- Bloating, gas, and cramps.
- Running nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
The best food allergy treatment is to stop ingesting allergic foods and taking anti-allergy drugs.
Leaky gut
Leaky gut syndrome is a condition with increased intestinal permeability. This permeability allows macromolecules such as toxins and partially digest food into the bloodstream. Your body perceives it as antigens (toxins) and trigger antibody production.
Immune system releases LDL cholesterol to attack this foreign substance (antigen). LDL cholesterol elevated proportional to the severity of the leaky gut syndrome.
Treating high LDL cholesterol with a statin, only worsen the condition not healing. The preferred treatment is healing the leaky gut syndrome and not lowering LDL cholesterol.
Once leaky gut is in control, LDL cholesterol normalizes without any specific treatment.
Kidney disease & cholesterol association
The clinical study reveals high triglyceride has an association with increased creatinine level. Additionally, it indicates a decrease in kidney function.
Low HDL cholesterol has associated with greater risk. But, total and LDL cholesterol is not associated with the risk of chronic kidney disease. Elevated levels of creatinine in the blood indicate a decline in the kidney function. The increase of 0.4 milligrams of creatinine/deciliter of blood indicates a decrease in kidney function.
Opting to lose weight
Losing weight causes a short-term rise in your serum cholesterol level. You know your body stores fats in adipocytes (fat cells). When you lose weight, fat cells shrink by releasing LDL cholesterol into the bloodstream. Elevated LDL cholesterol occurs in some after 30 to 50 pounds (13.6 to 22.6 kg) weight loss.
The Journal of Nutrition said losing weight by fasting cause temporary LDL-C raise. But, this high LDL disappears once stored fat reserves exhausted.
This unexpected weight loss might have related to specific diseases. These diseases are pulmonary disease, gastrointestinal disorders, infection, and oral problems. Also Cardiac disease, neurologic disease, connective tissue disease, HIV, and Cancer.
Adopting to Low-carb diet
Your body needs the same daily energy requirement whether from carbohydrate or another macronutrient. Your body consume stored glucagon for energy until the reserve completes. Afterward, your body break down stored fats in body cells. This fat breakdown momentary rise in blood cholesterol.
Low-carb diet usually enhances many health indicators. This diet lower triglycerides improves HDL-C, limit blood glucose spikes, and normalize blood pressure. Additionally, it helps achieve healthy waist/hip ratio.
Low-carb diet minimizes blood glucose spike after meals. So, only slight blood insulin raises after food. Low-carb diet influences LDL-C, it may decrease in some and increase in others.
Some people may panic on seeing the LDL-C number rise. Their physicians may prescribe Statin on seeing this LDL number. But, this LDL elevation is temporary; until the weight drop stabilizes. Some people have elevated LDL for 3-6 month; afterward, LDL tends to lower to a healthy level.
This rise in LDL-C is large fluffy LDL-P, which is considering as harmless. Additionally, high-fat and low-carb diet associating with the higher metabolic rate. A high metabolism means burning excess calories, thus a remote chance to gain weight.